Soundtracks: for the PC

BONUS POST!

That's right, everybody, this week there are TWO blog entries! Let the bodies hit the floor!

In the previous article we talked about building a soundtrack as a DM. We divided our soundtrack into three playlists and had a rockin' good time while doing it. And we danced to the music. But does the buck stop there? Does the DM only determine the music in the campaign?

The short answer, if you have a cool DM, is no! No it doesn't! Players can have a hand in the game's soundtrack, in one especial way: Theme Songs.

The idea is this: each PC gets a theme song, and when that tune comes up in combat you get some kind of bonus. This isn't a new idea. Sly Flourish covered it in his article, Three Ways To Use Music In Your Game, and that was almost two years ago. Greg Bilsland had a similar house rule even before that, though I was unable to track it down.

In my campaign, when a Player's theme song comes on, the current turn in the initiative order is resolved ASAP and the PC immediately gets a bonus turn. There's nothing quite as sweet as getting two turns in a round. Just ask the Dragons and Ettins. And even sweeter than cracking extra orc skull is getting to crack them to Bad Reputation.

Oh God... is that... Halfcocked?...

I thoroughly encourage DMs to include this in their games, and for players to be as creative as possible with their songs. Pick something that you know is going to stand out amongst your DM's fantasy fare. It can be Ok Go, John Williams, or Mozart, just so long as, when it plays, everyone thinks "that's Divo the Deva's song, and he/she's about to kick some tail."

If you're feeling particularly creative (or masochistic), try composing or remixing your own theme song. Here's an example. My GM in Star Wars RPG asked us all to pick theme songs, but specifically said that they could not be from Star Wars. So I started combing through iTunes trying to find the perfect sci-fi song for my good natured Imperial Intelligence Officer, Special Agent Coop Marloeve (insert DEAR CHARACTER BLOG joke here).

And yes, for those who cocked an eyebrow
at "Special Agent Coop", he is
inspired by a Twin Peaks character.

As we were listening to various tunes, my brother and I realized that "I Am The Doctor" from the Doctor Who Soundtrack and "Suicide Mission" from Mass Effect 2 were very similar in a lot of ways. So I sped up the ME2 track and combined the songs into one epic five minute theme song.

For those who love Mass Effect and Doctor Who, I've embedded it below. And for those who don't, why don't you? Come on, people, they're great Sci-Fi.

So go out and find a theme song, and start chopping baddies to it. Happy gaming!

-DS

Soundtracks: for the DM

I love incorporating music into my RPGs. I make whole playlists of hundreds of songs from dozens of soundtracks. I pull from all sources: tv shows, films, video games, classical music, rock, pop, anything that fits. Sometimes my soundtracks are classic epic fantasy fare, like The Lord of the Rings, The Witcher, Dragon Age, and Narnia. Other times I make it a bit more Scott Pilgrim, adding in heavy guitar riffs and pulsing beats to keep the action going. Sometimes I draw on Sci-fi to give the music a bit of a modern edge. My current Gloomwrought campaign features a lot of Midnight Syndicate, to give it that proper creepy feeling. I find that music rounds out a game session, and helps keep the focus and energy up during the particularly long 4e combat rounds.

When making a soundtrack as a DM, I divide it up into three playlists. One is the At-Peace soundtrack: this is made up of more peaceful tracks that fill out the down-time PCs experience. I put this one on for basic roleplay, low-stakes exploration, and PC interaction. Ambient tracks are very good (see the Skyrim soundtrack for a plethora of these). Slow tempos, basic melodies, and relaxing tones make up this playlist.

The next playlist I call the Dungeon soundtrack. It is comprised of moodier pieces, with a bit more of a malicious edge to them. They are for the higher-stakes moments outside of combat, such as searching a room for traps, negotiating with Vampires, or exploring a dungeon (hence the name). By putting this soundtrack on, you instantly put the Players on edge. Without any flavour text, you can add creepiness to a room just by pressing play on iTunes.

The last playlist is the Combat playlist. This is the most important playlist of all, so spend most of your time building it. Since 4e combat can get insanely long, I recommend several hours worth of music to keep it from getting repetitive. Fortunately, good combat music is very easy to find. Any action film soundtrack is a good bet. Video game soundtracks almost always have incredible fight music. And if all else fails, getting some natty techno in the mix doesn't hurt either. You can find all kinds of great soundtracks for your game session in places you might not have expected.

If you like, you can add even more playlists. I have one specifically for Taverns, with a lot of medieval instruments and mellow guitars. I have a triumphant combat playlist and a s***-your-pants-scary one. I often like to pick a theme song for the campaign. My Neverwinter campaign's is "Assassin of Kings" from the Witcher 2, and occasionally when it's happier some Skylanders.

Don't judge me: Hans Zimmer wrote the theme. Also, Spyro is adorable. So shut up.

By building a comprehensive and engaging soundtrack, you can drop your players into the action with the click of a mouse. Once you get good at it, you won't be able to go back. Everything will seem a bit more boring. I hope some of these examples grabbed you, and that you have fun building your own soundtrack for your campaign!

Thanks, and happy gaming!
-DS

The Book of Vile Darkness: a Brief Musing

A brief disclaimer: I'm from a religious household, and am a pretty religious guy. As I grew up in my community, I heard a lot of the nonsense regarding D&D that many others have also been exposed to. Neither I or my family ever bought into it: a fictional tabletop game doesn't have the power that extremists give it. In fact, in my experience, D&D promotes many strong moral ideals.The unjustified rumors of demon worship, satanism, etc make me pretty mad. It's stupid that people would put such stock in and be so afraid of a simple game.

Another disclaimer: I play a pretty straight-laced campaign much of the time. Through two tiers of play, I've ran a fairly standard good vs evil storyline. Only recently have the shades grown significantly grayer. But up until the last few months, I've always made a point of letting good triumph over evil. It makes the Players feel like they're making a difference, and I get to feel like I'm delivering a positive message.

A few weeks back I picked up the 4e version of The Book of Vile Darkness by Robert J. Schwalb. When I first heard about the release, I wasn't very interested: the morbid nature put me off. I've never had interest in playing an Evil character or running an "Evil Campaign," so I figured I would pass this one over. In addition, to be completely honest, some of the stuff I'd seen from the original Third Edition book made me a bit uncomfortable. Rules for torture? Cancer Mages? Ritual Sacrifice? I didn't see that sort of thing in my campaign: I didn't particularly want to assist in or justify the negative stigma facing D&D already.

Case in point.

When I read the back of the book however, I was drawn in by the promise of "evil villains...vile monsters, magic items, organizations, traps and hazards, terrain, diseases, and curses". I am in the infancy of epic tier in my campaign, and things are coming to a head. I was looking for any way to up the ante for the players, and am getting ready to unveil some pretty scary and merciless villains. So I figured the book was worth a shot.

I was very pleased to discover that there was a good deal of useful material in the Dungeon Master's Book for any campaign. The chapter of Curses held some incredible mechanics for time-honored story hooks, and the section on Villains was everything I was looking for. There were some very creative monsters and themes (though unfortunately very little Epic support: one monster), and some super cool traps. The Far Realm Anomaly was my favourite trap in the book: a d20 determines one of several possible mutations PCs undergo when exposed to the hazard. Some are positive (freakish legs that add a +1 to speed) and others negative (arms turn to tentacles with a -2 to all attacks).

The book also provided a lot of advice on how to run an Evil Campaign: one in which the characters in it are villains. It gave adventure hooks, plot arcs, even entire campaign outlines. While I myself am not likely to use this content, I know others will wish to try something like this and it will be very useful to them.

I still had a lot of mixed feelings about much of the content in the Player's Book. While I liked the options and mechanics of the options presented, much of the flavor was very contrary to my idea of the game. Blood-Crazed Berserkers, Slaves of Devils, and a theme that is basically a word for word description of the Reavers from Firefly (the theme is even called Reaver). As a Player, I would likely never want to use some of this content.

Call me old-fashioned, but I'm not super keen on my
character looking like this...

My biggest concern, however, was the effect that these options would have on a campaign. As a DM I was worried that they could only lead to huge Player conflicts: some of my group would be game for this stuff, but it definitely wouldn't fly with others. I've seen Players bring in very well-thought-out Evil characters into the campaign, who play nice when they have to and wait til the right opportunity to secretly seize more power for themselves. Our groups Warlock is a perfect example of this. I have seen more frequently, however, the characters who take Evil much too literally. They kill NPCs without provocation, engage in subversive behavior in secret, and stab the other Players in the back. It isn't fun for anyone, and I was distressed that this book might be enabling this kind of behavior.

My fears as a DM were assuaged, however, when I read through the whole book. There is huge emphasis in the opening pages on keeping the game fun for everyone. It identifies the delicacy required in playing an evil adventurer in a group that, in all likelihood, is mostly made up of good ones. All the selfish behavior I was afraid of is addressed here: wanton killing, stabbing allies in the back, playing uncooperatively with the rest of the group etc. The book highly discourages this kind of approach, and gives many alternatives for the average wolf in sheep's clothing (or company).

In my mind, this makes the content in the book a-ok for my campaign. The Book of Vile Darkness fills a niche that wasn't properly filled before in 4e, and in a way that makes sure it's done right. If a Player reads and stands by the advice in this book, I would be open to a Reaver at the table. Who knows? It might shake things up considerably.

Hopefully not too much...

In Review: SlyFlourish's Running Epic Tier D&D Games

"Be kind to them at Heroic

Be even-handed at Paragon

Be a bastard at Epic"

These words open Sly Flourish's Running Epic Tier D&D Games, one of the most valuable resources any 4e Dungeon Master can arm him or herself with when jumping that Level 21 shark.

Epic Tier Dungeons and Dragons is a clustercuss unto itself. It is a major game changer. PCs become gods, armed with scores of power cards and magic items out the wazoo. Monsters become useless ragdolls to be tossed to the four winds with abandon. The Dungeon Master is suddenly reduced to a frustrated and demoralized mess. What should be the climactic and high-stakes end to a campaign, one that has spanned many months (years?), is instead a painful slog through wave after wave of boring encounters, with some half-hearted story dashed in for good measure. That is, if your DM makes it that far.

Fortunately, the internet is full of bloggers, tweeters, and writers who have been there, done that, and found solutions! Few of these have been as outspoken on the subject as Michael E. Shea, also known by his twitter handle and blogging alias Sly Flourish. He has posted countless tweets on the subject, and has always been both a critic of Epic Tier and an advocate for how to make it playable. He also literally wrote the book on the subject.

The book, available from his website, costs $3.99 for a downloadable version or $7.99 for a print copy. As somebody relatively new to the business of buying stuff from bloggers, I bought the downloadable copy. I now wish I'd sprung for the print version. This book belongs on my 4e shelf.

Presentation

The book's design is what I would call Spartan. Nothing is wasted here: it is comprised of basic text, black on white. This gives the book a utilitarian quality (handy if you do decide to print it after all). The table of contents outlines each section clearly. In sharp contrast to the no-nonsense approach of the inside, the front and back covers feature artwork by Jared von Hindman of http://www.headinjurytheater.com/, the writer and illustrator behind the D&D Outsider articles. They offer a hilarious perspective on the power imbalance inherent to Epic Tier, and I always chuckle a little when I see Orcus humbled like that.

Content

The book is designed to be a collection of tips and tricks on how to overcome the pitfalls of running Epic Tier Dungeons and Dragons. It accomplishes this goal neatly. The book offers solutions for the experienced DM to bring into their game and make it as dangerous as it was in Heroic Tier. It gives tips on overcoming each individual Player Role, dodging the defensive buffers of PCs, taking heavy hits to your monsters, scaling up battles, running fast encounters (very important at this stage in the game), and more. He provides advice for moving your campaign into the Epic Tier, or for running one-shots and mini-campaigns.

Occasionally, however, the book goes beyond it's mandate of tweaks and tricks and offers good advice that transcend the game mechanics. Sly Flourish kicks the book off with a section on how to style your Epic Campaign, and how to make it feel special and unique to your Players. Many insightful points are made: your players are basically superheroes, so why doesn't the world treat them as such? Once or twice the book even suggests encounter designs or templates, which can sprout into entire plot hooks. Shea gives advice on finishing your campaign with a bang. Had all this content been explored further, this might have been a fully fledged DM's Guide to Epic Tier. The book never professes to be this, however, so the added content was instead a happy bonus to discover.

One of the most useful tips found in the book is simply to scale up Monster damage. This has consistently worked at my table to up the threat in any Epic encounter. Using the book in conjunction with the stats found on Sly Flourish's DM Cheat Sheet (available for free on his website) has been the quickest and easiest way to make Epic Tier feel Epic again. I now up the damage output of every encounter. More damage means that Player resists and temporary hp mean something. The party Cleric finally gets to use his three heals per turn and feel like it made a real difference. At the end of the day, by giving them the chance to use their special abilities, you make the PCs feel powerful while still getting the satisfaction of keeping them on their toes.

Another brilliant approach suggested by the book is to use environmental effects against the PCs. Adding streams of lava or pillars of necrotic death up the strategy required to defeat an encounter. Giving these effects a high automatic damage output is an easy way to threaten the PCs in ways they don't expect. Adding a skill challenge or puzzle to disarm this effect is another great way to make the encounter even more memorable.

One of my favourite tricks that Sly Flourish presents is called the "Donut Aura". It works exactly like a normal aura, except that it only effects those outside of its range. A Donut Aura 3 means that if a monster doesn't start its turn three squares away from the monster, it's going to regret it. I tested this power with a nasty self-forged boss whose metallic body was coursing with Storm Magic. If the party's archer was too far away, he got blasted with 25 lightning damage. And if you want to get really mean, combine a Donut Aura with a slightly less potent Normal Aura. It forces players to pick the lesser of two evils.

The downside of many of the tips found in the book is that if you use them too often, Players begin to notice. I find that you have to really break them up with each other to keep encounters from seeming too familiar. This isn't really a huge problem: many of the tips seem keyed to improve boss battles, and there are enough tricks in the book to keep it unique for dozens of fights. Just remember, as always, to mix it up from session to session.

Maybe this is me being greedy and a bit lazy for a second, but one thing I would've liked to see in the book was a few monster stat blocks. Many times a specific monster's power was referenced and tweaked, but I think some of the ideas would've benefited from an actual stat block. It might have helped to clarify some of the trickier tips, and shown how to unite several concepts presented in the book into a concise format for instant use at the table. Admittedly, this isn't supposed to be a Monster Manual (heck, I'm not even sure it's legal to publish stat blocks under the 4e game system license). But I for one would love to pay for a DLC with five or six customized monsters in it, ready to play. Especially Solos. Sly Flourish has some great ideas regarding solos.

The Bottom Line


Sly Flourish's Running Epic Tier D&D Games is the definitive published work on the subject. With no help for Epic Tier forthcoming from Wizards of the Coast, we in the 4e community must turn to our own for help. In his 52 page pdf, Mike Shea provides the best advice I have seen on Epic Tier to date. If you are even thinking of running an Epic game, I thoroughly recommend this book.

I bought the book in mid-paragon tier, so it gave me time to process the information and try out one or two things in the last couple levels before Epic. I would suggest this approach, as I found it prepared me in advance for the dramatic change Epic Tier brings.

At four bucks, this is an absolute steal. Do your campaign a favor and download it today. It could save your game before you even know it needs it.

And, if you aren't already, for the love of Selune, follow Sly Flourish on twitter and at his website.


Thanks, and happy gaming!

-DS

Epic Minions

I've long loved Minions in 4e Dungeons and Dragons. They're good for everyone involved. The players get a sweet one-hit-kill (which, as long as they didn't mindlessly drop a Daily on them, feels really good), and the DM gets the sadistic pleasure of filling the map with a dozen or more monsters all out for PC blood. They're an easy way to up the threat level while still maintaining balance. Many's the time I've used Minions liberally in my encounters, outnumbering the players with hungry dogs or hungrier zombies in what turns into a joyous slash-and-spell-fest of the highest degree.

These Orcs all have 1 hp each. Suddenly the
War of the Ring doesn't seem so hard.

As a consequence, however, I have found that, by Epic Tier, Minions have become slightly stale. My Players can identify them easily, know to avoid them until the Warlock and Wizard get set up, and then decimate them with Curse Grind or Shadow Monsters. Most Minions wind up dead in the first round of combat, making the rest of the encounter very dull. By the time Epic Tier rolls around, not only is the magic of Minions gone, but also the threat. The easy-to-kill monster has suddenly become way-too-easy-to-kill.

I tried a few methods to deal with this. My first strategy was to simply add more Minions. That was scary for a few combats, but it was no more exciting or effective than the old tactics. The next approach I tried was to have the minions roll a saving throw every time they took damage. On a roll of ten or higher, the damage was negated. This was ok at first, but it wasn't long until PCs started to feel robbed and I started to feel like a jerk. And let's face it: a minion that sticks around for five rounds by sheer chance kind of misses the point.

I decided to focus on the problem, rather than slapping on a quick fix. As I already mentioned, the main problem I was having was that my Minions weren't even getting a turn. As soon as combat started, all it took was a well-placed fireball spell and suddenly the battlefield was as bare as a Marilith's chest.

Not the picture some of you were hoping for? Tough.

One way to counteract this is to have Minions come in as reinforcements. This gives the Minions a chance to actually do something. Instead of being picked off before their turn in the order comes round, they act as soon as they hit the battlefield. If reinforcements doesn't make any sense to the circumstances of an encounter, I add a +5 to their initiative score to give them a chance in combat. This meant that, by receiving a few hits, the PCs were actually earning the XP the minions granted them.

Another good way to make Minions effective, and a very simple fix, is to extend their hit points. This might seem cheap, or that it defeats the purpose, but if your controllers and strikers are ripping through them like tissues at a Charlie Kaufman movie then desperate measures are called for. And a very slight hp buffer can make all the difference.

I tried this out at my game on Friday. The party was in Gloomwrought being ambushed by the Ebony Guard. I took the Ebony Guard Initiate, from the Shadowfell Boxed Set, and leveled it up to 21. Then I simply edited the stat block so that it said 30 hp instead of 1. I left all the other stats intact.

The result in combat was remarkable. A direct hit from the Ranger in the group still killed one instantly (he even picked off two in one turn, without an action point). From everyone else on the board it took no more than two hits to drop them. But the time it bought the Minion was enough to get in some nasty damage, and even one or two crits from the Initiate's "Furious Flock" ability. The Players were happy the Minions went down quick, but also surprised when they didn't initially. It shook things up in a very good way.

I picked 30 hp at random (the whole concept was fairly spur of the moment), but I think if you gave the Minion around 10 hp per tier it should balance quite nicely. This kind of thing might not even be necessary at Heroic Tier. It may even result in a TPK, if you go overboard. But if, at any tier, your Minions have a hard time staying on the board long enough to do anything effective, it's a quick and easy solution that might help bring the threat back to these nasties. And hopefully your players will think twice before saying "those ones are probably just Minions." 

Thanks, and happy gaming!

-DS

Minis vs Tokens Appendix A: 3D Tokens

I wanted to include this in the part two article, but decided it was a little lengthy, and it could be it's own mid-week mini blog post. So here it is! Thanks for the great comments on my last article. I hope this one is helpful! -DS

When I was playtesting ways to use both tokens and miniatures together at the game table, I was tempted to try and find a way for the tokens to stand up. Every other monster on the map was 3D, so it made sense that the token could at least try to be. I combed through my old board games and found some plastic card stands that worked quite well at keeping the tokens upright. I congratulated myself on my ingenuity and brought them to my game session. 

I am a freaking legend.

After playing it in the field, I felt a lot more foolish. I failed to consider the way my basement set-up works: the DM is off to the side while the players surround the table. And unless a player is facing the token head on, the token's upright nature only gets in the way. People got confused as to which monsters were bloodied, and some barely had any idea what they were fighting at all. 

I am a freaking idiot.

In addition, if you have a Large or Huge monster token, you need to modify the stand to show how many squares it is occupying at any given time. There are ways to do this, but it's still a lot of work for little real payoff. So overall, making the tokens stand up is way more trouble than it is worth. But if your table is set up so that your Players are all facing the map from one basic angle, it might work for you.

Thanks for reading! Hope it helps.

- DS

Minis vs Tokens Part 2: Peace Treaty

Last week we talked about the difficult issue of D&D Miniatures vs Monster Tokens at the game table. We presented good arguments for and against both, and made quite a mess in the process. You can find the original article here.
For those not wanting to reread the whole blog post, here is a quick recap:

MINIATURES
Pros:   
- Beautiful game aids.
- Provide an accurate, to-scale, three dimensional representation of the monster.
- They're what players expect, and they look gorgeous. 
Cons:
- Expensive.
- Hard to collect the ones you want.
- You're limited to the monsters you have, or must substitute.
- Difficult to transport.
- They're addictive.


TOKENS
Pros:
- Cheap and plentiful.
- Any creature in the recent releases has a token.
- They're portable
- They can denote bloodied and be written on with a dry-erase marker.
Cons:
- Two-dimensional.
- Don't give the same feel for the monster (scale, image).
- Don't support past Monster Manuals.
- Player expectations aren't met in the same way as miniatures.

Now that we've outlined the issues with both, how do we use this information? How do we decide when and how to use these tools at the game table? I've tested some options, and here are a few solutions (with lots of pretty pictures along the way).

1. Minis Without Tokens

Berk/Jerk the Ettin King and his army of orcs, 

built exclusively using miniatures.

If you're like me, this is what you've been doing for most of your 4e career. Minis drew me in and I got a stockpile of them. You could use miniatures exclusively in your game if you wanted, but the aforementioned problems with them would still remain.

No matter how hard it tries, this will never be a Purple Worm.

But hey, if these issues aren't a problem with you and your players, then power to you. You shall remain content and could stop reading this article right now if you wish. And if you've got a big enough collection, you can still make awesome encounters like the Ettin King's throne room above. And they'll look damn good.

2. Tokens Without Minis

Berk/Jerk again, but this time flatter and less intense.

If you've just started playing 4e in the heyday of Essentials, then this could very well be the way you play right now. If you're only interested in the current material, than this solution can work for you. This method is especially good if you're not that in to spending a whole lot of money on game aids. It may not be the fanciest approach, but it's functional, and you'll have a huge encyclopedia of monsters to draw upon and use at your table without compromise.

At the same time, if your players have ever used miniatures in a past game, they may take some time to adjust to the new approach.

3. Tokens as Support Crew
This is without a doubt the easiest way to incorporate both miniatures and tokens into your game. So far, it is also the method that my players have liked the most: when building an encounter, use tokens to represent the Minions. It helps to identify the weaker monsters in the encounter, while still giving an accurate representation of everyone on the map. It allows tokens to augment your inventory of miniatures, because while you might have three or four skeletons, you might not have enough zombie minis to cover the eight zombie minions you want surrounding the party.

Braaaaaaaaains...

Another way to use tokens in support of regular miniatures is as mounts. It's pretty tough to get that wizard mini to ride the dragon mini, what with that plastic stand in the way. But why not try something along these lines?

Hobgoblin riding a Manticore. 

It sounds like a Parry Gripp video.

Admittedly, it's kind of hard to see the Manticore underneath, but it reminds the players that there are two creatures there instead of one. And it works a lot better than attempting to balance one mini on top of another.

4. Tokens As NPCs
In my opinion, this is one way in which tokens outshine conventional miniatures by about a million lumens. Many recent releases, including Madness at Gardmore Abbey, The Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond, and Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale, provide specific tokens for many significant NPCs in the books. The tokens provide a close up of the character's face, giving a good idea of who you're dealing with. An example: this is the token for Lord Padraig from the Madness at Gardmore Abbey boxed set.

The rugged, windswept, and sexy leader of Winterhaven.

Look at those eyes. The greying hair, the symbol of office, the fur cloak. That's a man against the elements, bringing some semblance of nobility to the wilds of the Nentir Vale. That there is a character. Now check this out: if I had to pick a miniature to represent Padraig, I would pick this one.

Bulgy eyes. Poncy armor. Moustache. Yup. Same guy.

A stock hero miniature, posed for combat and fairly ordinary. The Players would glance at him and move on. Especially since, before tokens came along, this was one of the minis I used all the time to represent noble townsfolk or clerics. It's a fine mini, but it's not Lord Padraig.

The Token provides so much more humanity to the character. He looks like the picture in the book, and the facial close up gives us a great view of the eyes, which are the windows to the soul. And if you are creating your own material and NPCs, the Dungeon Masters Kit and the Red Box come with plenty of tokens for Player Characters. Odds are, your PCs have invested in their own mini. So these numerous faces are yours to use for the various townsfolk, villains, and other NPCs in your campaign.

This works for monster bosses too. Say you have a female Orc Chieftain who the party tries to bargain with. Here's the mini I would have used:

Pictured: totally not a female orc.

Here's the token I'd pick.

Again: it's all in the eyes.

Way cooler, if you ask me. Here again but with another race: here are the only two gnome miniatures I own.

Both fairly devoid of a whole lot of personality. Also both male.

Now here are the two options the token set has provided. Both dripping with character, and one in each gender.

Gnomes understand the importance of equality, 

mostly because they're bullied so much online.

For stock monsters, miniatures are the top choice. But if you want to help bring a character to life, a token goes a long way toward making that happen. People get more from faces than they do from action poses. Add in some creative roleplay and maybe a funny voice and you're good to go.

4. Minis and Tokens Unite!
This is the simplest way to incorporate both into your game: stop caring so much! Ultimately, both methods work, and it doesn't matter which one you choose as long as you're having fun. So why not forget the whole debate and smash them together? Remember that throne room of King Berk/Jerk the Ettin? Well why not combine all the minis and tokens from both into one super terrifying uber-encounter?

Way cooler, right?

Double the monsters, double the fun! So pick a method that works for you, and don't be afraid to shake things up. Your players will only thank you for it! Right after the Ettin King TPKs them.

Gulp.

Thanks for reading, and happy gaming!
- DS

Minis vs Tokens Part 1: The Eternal Struggle

*Note: this was meant to be a stand-alone article, but as I was writing it I realized that it was too much for one blog post. I've split it in two. This entry presents a Problem. The sequel will provide a Solution. Stay tuned. -DS

A certain topic has caused me much thought and stirred considerable disquiet within my DM soul. Ever since the Red Box Dungeons and Dragons 4e Starter Set was released many moons ago, I have been stricken with a conflict regarding how to adorn my tabletop. The main question of this inner discussion is this: how should one represent Monsters at the game table? Pre-Red Box, my answer was easy. D&D Miniatures! But when I cracked open the Red Box, Wizards of the Coast threw me a curveball: D&D monster tokens.

At first I dismissed them: a weak substitute and something to be tossed aside. I started handing them out as Action Points at the table, so my oft-forgetful players could keep track of whether they had spent one or not. The idea of tokens as monsters at my table was preposterous. I had tons of miniatures. Why would I need tokens?

But then I bought the Shadowfell box. And the Gardmore Abbey box. This Christmas I received both Monster Vaults. Now, suddenly, I had tokens out the wazoo. What was I going to do with them? And why did I find them so… eerily captivating?

What is your secret, you one-inch-square meerkat?

I’ve since battled with myself on this subject, and reached a few conclusions re: Minis vs Tokens. I will attempt to boil them down to a few points here, and hopefully by the end of this series I will be able to give some advice on how to incorporate either or both Minis and Tokens into your game.

First on the Chopping Block...

D&D MINIATURES

PROS 

Miniatures are the best table aids a DM has in his 4e game. They provide a three-dimensional scale representation of the monster the Players are fighting. These monsters are usually in way-cool poses: swinging axes, bursting into flames, raining death on the PCs etc. and so forth. They provide an accurate PC to Monster ratio (usually: if your Player has a comically oversized custom Reapermini job, it might not be so precise. But most of the time you're good). 

And let’s be honest here: they’re pretty. They look great, perform well, and are everything you could ask for in a visualization tool. Miniatures are the high-water mark for quality Monster Representation in Dungeons and Dragons.

But then why am I even debating this? Why don’t I just shut up now?

Because there are also…

CONS

Miniatures are expensive. If you buy them in traditional booster packs the prices range from about $15-$40 a pack. And for this exorbitant price, you are only receiving at most 6 miniatures. While the recent Lords of Madness expansion pack guaranteed you one huge miniature, in that pack you couldn’t see any of the visible miniatures, whereas in any of the older releases you got to see at least one. That means that more than a few of us got more Iron Golems than we asked for. The randomization of the miniatures coupled with the cost made them extremely hard and expensive to collect.

But if you only fight that Wizard who exclusively 

deals in Iron Golems and Rime Hounds, you're set.

Another issue is that not every monster received the Miniatures treatment. Sure, I got plenty of Goblins and Dead Villagers and Foulspawn. But how many Devas did I find? Or gnolls? Or Demogorgons? Short answer? None. That meant that if I wanted to include a race, but didn’t have enough miniatures of that type, I had to either scrap the idea and switch it to fit the minis I had, or I had to use substitutes. The second option worked, but my players saw what I was doing and made jokes at my collection’s expense. 

One of these Kobolds is not like the other!

Suddenly the Tribe of Kenkus that looks suspiciously like a half-dozen Goblins isn't as mysterious or awesome anymore. And the encounter suffers because everyone keeps saying “I attack the Goblin with the Crossbow” when it’s supposed to be a Kenku Wing Mage. See what I mean? Totally lame.

In addition, Minis are difficult to store and to transport. This isn’t as huge a deal for me anymore, as I now play exclusively out of the home. But when I was stuck for a space a few months back and had to cart my minis around with me it was difficult and stressful. I was always worried they were going to get lost. Some of them did. I can’t even imagine if I went to conventions and brought them with me. I’d have to be insane.

The final blow against Miniatures: they’re addictive. The collectible nature of them had me crazy with combing ebay for perfect miniatures, buying random packs “just in case”, and hoping I’d get lucky. The truth is that they’re too beautiful. You want more, and you want them all. Which is good for Wizards of the Coast, but bad for my bank account. Not worth it to get my Miniatures fix.

Yeesh. That’s a lot of cons. Let’s leave this for now, and look at the competition.

D&D MONSTER TOKENS

PROS

First and foremost, Monster Tokens provide an abundance that miniatures do not. And they’re cheap. If you buy the Monster Vault, you are getting ten sheets of high-quality, durable, and attractive-looking tokens along with an incredible book. Even better than that: very monster in the book has a token. Every single one. That means with one forty dollar purchase you instantly have a whole arsenal of Monsters to chuck at the party. Sure, you can’t have ten liches at once, and some types of monster use the same token, but you can have a clan of Orcs at your disposal instantly.

The tokens are cross-compatible with a lot of the new products coming out, as well. With the Monster Vault, the Dungeon Tile Master Sets, and the Gardmore Abbey box, you have absolutely everything you need to run the Gardmore Abbey adventure as it was written and intended to be run. That's what I call D&D Essentials!

And the tokens are nice. Both the glossy Monster Vault and the grittier MV Nentir Vale tokens look great on the table. You can write on them with a dry-erase marker, cutting down on the number of tokens you need on-hand during play. And when your monster gets bloodied, boom: flip ‘em over, and you’ve got yourself a bloodied monster.

Now we're in real trouble.

On top of all that, they’re extremely portable. I can fit five products worth of tokens into the original box that the Monster Vault came in and pull them out as I need. They’re lightweight, thin, and very easy to transport. Suddenly tokens aren’t sounding half bad.

Too bad that these, too, have their…

CONS

They’re two-dimensional. This sucks in a lot of ways. Which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense considering that, unless you have Dwarven Forge or some other comparable 3D terrain, you’re playing on 2D Dungeon Tiles and Battle Maps anyway. So why should 2D monsters be a problem?

Easy. Precedent. 

If you’re like me, by now your players are used to Miniatures. They’re used to you whipping out a new and exciting 3D bad guy for them to fight each session. They likely have custom-made 3D miniatures for their PCs that they like to put next to your 3D monster when they’re fighting it in 3D combat. You've given them nothing but 3D the whole campaign so far. You've set a precedent.

Now, suddenly you put down a 2D monster token, and the players are non-plussed.

"......well, this sucks."

The token doesn’t offer the scale, grandeur, or physical presence that a miniature offers. While it does have a picture of the monster, it often doesn’t show the whole monster’s body. So it’s harder to visualize the monster just from the token on the table. In short, it doesn’t drop your players into the world in the same way.

Because this...

...will never be as awesome as this.

And finally, while the tokens provide options for all the Monster Vault creatures, they do not provide monsters for the entirety of the past releases. That means that, even though the Monster Vault is pretty comprehensive, I still won’t have my tribe of Kenkus. 

"Guys, go home. The dream is dead."

For me, this isn’t as huge a deal, since I’ve come to realize that almost all pre-Monster Vault monsters are pretty broken in the PCs favor, and not very fun to run. I can see, however, that this would be a huge problem for some people, and so I am addressing it here.

So where does this leave us?

Miniatures are beautiful, but they have huge limitations. Tokens are supremely versatile, but can’t even hope to live up to the legacy of Miniatures. At least, not alone…

In the next article, I’ll look at the issues presented here. I’ll lock Tokens and Minis into a room together. And hopefully, through extensive therapy, the three of us can come to a compromise that works for everybody, and hopefully provides some applicable advice for your table at home. Until next time, just keep gaming. 

Whatever you use at the table.

-DS

Iconic Characters: Merlin

Note: This is my first entry in what I hope to make an ongoing series of articles on this blog, where I take a character from popular fiction, myth, television, or film and translate it into the 4e ruleset. It seems like a fun project, and will hopefully be able to spark some inspiration on how to lift a character off the sheet and make it more than the sum of its power cards.

A lot of discussion was drummed up in the last little while by one of Wizard of the Coast's latest releases: Heroes of the Feywild came out in mid-November to what I thought was a bit of a negative reception. Twitter was alight with condemnations of the light-hearted and fairy-tale-like quality of the book. Particular hatred was heaped upon the Pixie race, an option that many criticized, and was even (jokingly, I hope) banned from some people's home games. That isn't to say that the book didn't have its supporters either. Many praised the book for its excellent fluff and extremely creative sidebars that gave the book a charm that stood out. For the most part, however, the online reaction seemed quite anti-Feywild, and the sourcebook became the butt of many jokes and jabs.

I received this book for Christmas from my brother, and I must say that I love it. I find the tone of the book to be consistent, well-written, and incredibly engaging, and some of the content in the book is better than any I've seen. As for the Pixie, though I can see why it does not appeal to some, I myself have had two players request a homebrew option for this in the past, and so I am quite happy to see it become an official race option.

But this isn't a review, so I'll get to the point. One of the classes in the book is the Witch. It's a new option for Wizards interested in exploring a more Primal vein of Arcane magic. What could be dismissed as a gimmick is in fact a well-designed class that hearkens back to some of the most ancient and respected magical archetypes of ancient legend. So I decided to, out of the joy of it, recreate one of these characters. While one could use the class to build a stereotypical "witch" (with green skin, warts, and a cat fetish), I wanted to show that this class represents what made magic cool to our ancient forefathers. That the ancient celtic legends and classical english literature combined with the modern 4e mechanic could make a playable Wizard who was mystical, interesting, and badass at the same time. That the most famous Wizard of all time wasn't a Mage: he was a Witch.

I made Merlin.

"I'm more badass than you."

Gandalf's great. Dumbledore's Delightful. But Merlin. That guy was the Wizard's Wizard. He was a Wizard before they had a word for Wizard. He was the first great magician of English lore, and I've always loved the guy. From "The Once and Future King" to the BBC television series to Disney's comical adaptation in "The Sword and the Stone", every time Merlin shows up he makes me smile. Even in that old Dungeons and Dragons tv series, where he made a brief appearance between shots of unarmed children, creepy gnome-looking guys, and Tiamat. 

Look out! It's Tiamat!

Merlin's so old school he sometimes spells his name wrong. I wanted to see how he would look as a 4e dnd character. In addition, I wanted to show that, while Heroes of the Feywild presented some great fluff options for your powers and character choices, it could also create a character who can kick ass and take names if s/he wants to. So, without further ado, I present my 4e treatment of Merlin, using powers almost exclusively from Heroes of the Feywild.


NOTE: This Merlin is level six, to give a good idea of how awesome this character is in its prime.

CLASS: Wizard (Witch), obviously. That's the point of the article. I went with the Full Moon Coven, because as threatening as Merlin is, he was always a good guy, so it seemed a little weird to pick Dark Moon Coven.

"Pull out that sword, or so help me..."

For his familiar, the choice was obvious. Owl. Not only does it give an extra 1d4 to perception and insight checks, it's also the form of Merlin's traditional familiar, Archimedes.

Roleplaying Archimedes is optional, but 

if you're not going to, make sure your

DM makes him as crotchety as possible.

RACE: Human. I guess if you wanted you could go with elf, or even half-elf, but I've always seen Merlin as human (though admittedly something more than). I went with the Bonus At-Will option, since for any kind of wizard more spells are always a good thing. For languages, I picked Draconic, since his backstory is usually associated with Dragons.

DETAILS: Male, Good. For Theme I selected Tuathan, since shapechanging is always a part of his mythos in one way or another. More on this later, however. For background, I picked Sage, since his ties to nature were a huge influence in "The Once and Future King." I picked a standard array of ability scores, buffing Intelligence, and moved on to...

SKILLS: Nature, for the same reason I picked Tuathan. Insight, because he has always understood people (which is how he knew Wart would make a good king). History. The guy is super old. Now, I know he is supposed to age backwards in some retellings, but he still seems like he'd know a thing or two. And that left Diplomacy and Dungeoneering. I picked Dungeoneering, since any talking he needs to do he can do through magic. This will be explained in the powers section, which brings us to: the Powers Section.

"Shhhhh. It's about to get really awesome."

CANTRIPS: Prestidigitation, Suggestion, and Chameleon's Mask. This last one is new to this sourcebook, and enables Merlin to use Arcana in place of Stealth once per encounter, "blending light and sound to make [him] almost invisible." Which is as awesome as it sounds. Suggestion is good at getting around the Diplomacy problem, once again substituting it for Arcana. And Prestidigitation fits really well with Merlin's persona, as he was always good with simple tricks and alterations of his environment.

Using it to soak Archimedes is, again, optional.

AT-WILLS: Beast Switch. In crunch terms, this power deals damage, slides the target, and knocks prone, while preventing opportunity attacks until the end of your next turn. In fluff terms? Your enemy "transforms into a small, frightened beast that runs in a wild panic before turning to its true shape." Merlin turns the big bad into a tiny little animal for a second. How awesome is that? And it turns out that it's something that this class is quite good at.

Breath of Night. Bending the night wind to his will seems like something Merlin should be good at. Better than Illusion magic, anyway, so I picked it over Winged Horde.

And last, but definitely not least...

Witch Bolt. Remember that spell Harry Potter does every time he meets Voldemort? Where a jet of light sprays out of his wand and latches onto Ralph Fiennes' spell? Well picture that, but replace "jet of light" with "stream of lightning" and "spell" with "face". This spell is ranged 5, and does a nice amount of lightning damage to the target. And on your next turn, if the target hasn't left the range of the spell, you can Sustain Standard it to deal damage again without an attack roll. You read that right. If your target doesn't move away, you hit it automatically. With 1d10 + Intelligence modifier damage. ZAP!!!

Not Pictured: Merlin.

See what I mean about this class kicking ass? And if you think that spell is awesome now, just you wait. I'll show all you min-maxers how to turn this spell to your greatest advantage.

ENCOUNTERS: Glorious Presence and Call the Night Winds. The first spell is the Coven spell option. Dark Moon Coven gives you a necrotic nethermancy spell, but this one seems a little more quote-unquote Good. Flash of light, and you're pushed. Hey allies, take some temporary hp! Call the Night Winds creates a nasty zone of cold that obscures and slows anybody who gets in its way. Primal power of nature, I tells ya.

DAILIES: Charm of Forbiddence. Here's where Merlin lets his hair down a little and acts scary. After taking some nasty damage, the enemy takes more if he hits you or your allies. Merlin looks after his own. And finally, one of my favourite spells in the book, Foe to Frog. This time, you change a creature into a Tiny beast until they save against it. Once again, this power would be perfect for a stereotypical Witch, when you consider Merlin's penchant for turning Arthur into small animals and letting him explore, this power makes perfect sense for Merlin. And who doesn't want to reduce some of the most terrifying dnd monsters to a small and humiliating level?

Take that, Tiamat.

Just don't overuse it, or your DM will kill you.

Utility: NOTE: For this one, I made what many would see as a bad decision: I picked two Level 2 Utility Powers instead of picking a Level 6 one. I wanted Merlin to be badass. But I also wanted him to be Merlin. So I made the sacrifice and picked the two Utility powers that seemed the most "Merlin" to me.

Tuathan Animal Shape: This power is an augment of the Tuathan Theme. It allows Merlin to transform himself into Tiny animals, something he was famous for in many classical versions of him. Even in the Disney version he could make himself into other animals, although there are no walruses in this Merlin's Wizard's Duel.

Or Viral Infections, incidentally.

The second level 2 cantrip I picked was Simple Animation. "At your command, an ordinary object springs to life and moves where you bid." Put simply, you make objects into your own moving servant. Just like that scene in the Disney Version.

"Higitus Figitus!"

People may criticize me for picking these powers for the fluff of them, but I've always seen Utility Powers as a fun way to add fluff to your character. And what could be more fun than these two? They also both have very useful in-game applications. So there.

FEATS: Active Familiar, because Archimedes always had a mind of his own. Battle Caster Defense, vital to being an effective spellcaster in and out of melee. Alchemist, because Merlin is skilled in all things magical. 

And finally for you min-maxers out there, Far Spell and Superior Implement Training (Rowan Wand). Do you know what that means? You remember that sweet Witch Bolt spell I raved about? Well guess what? Thanks to these two feats, that spells range just went from 5 squares to 9 squares. Meaning that if that monster doesn't go out of his way to avoid you, ZAP. And that's what this sourcebook makes possible. If that isn't a sweet combo then I don't know what is.

EQUIPMENT: Adventurer's Kit, Cloth Armor, Alchemy Case (for the feat), Writing Case, Candle, Dagger (just in case) and a Rowan Wand. You could go with a staff if you wanted to, but I went with Rowan Wand for the increased range. And I've always imagined him with a wand. So it's your choice.

Boom. Insta-Merlin.

I hope you've enjoyed this exercise! Please leave a comment if you'd like to see more of these, or if you found it obscenely long (which it kinda was), please let me know what you liked or what you'd toss. This is my first time, after all. 

Thanks, and happy gaming!

- Jacob

Disclaimer: No images or videos belong to me, I just borrowed them from Google. If anybody has a legal problem with it, please email me at InspiringRefrain@gmail.com and I can gladly take them down. Please don't sue me.